From LQWiki

NetBSD is a fork of the 386/BSD branch of the Berkley Software Distribution - or BSD - operating system. NetBSD is most notable for it's wide number of ports - NetBSD can run on many different computer architectures available.

One of its biggest emphases is on security and as such its developers prefer to solve security problems outright rather than hacking in a fix like some other projects. This allows for a stronger, more robust operating system.

Package System

The NetBSD project uses a system called pkgsrc to enable users to easily build software from source. A scaffolding composed of many Makefiles, pkgsrc provides patches and instructions to build source code for a huge number of software projects, without actually providing the source code itself. The system obeys a directory hierarchy which self-describes the software present: for example, The GIMP is found in the graphics/gimp directory. To build a program, the user normally only has to navigate to the right directory and type "make install". The following actions are typical of what happens next automatically:

1. Download source code of program from original site or mirror.
2. Ensure all dependencies are installed.
3. Extract source code from archive.
4. Patch any required changes.
5. Configure program with arguments appropriate to the operating system and program options.
6. Build the software.
7. Check to make sure software is not already installed.
8. Install software and register package.

Dependency checking is entirely self-contained: dependencies which are not installed will be installed automatically from pkgsrc. It should be noted that because packages carry their own versions, it is fairly easy to detect when updates are needed, and to specify a range of acceptable versions for dependencies.

pkgsrc supports numerous platforms and runs not only on NetBSD and DragonFly BSD, but also on Linux (among others). It is available via CVS and as archives on the NetBSD FTP server and mirrors. Along with a current "bleeding edge" system, stable quarterly releases are made and maintained.

External links

• NetBSD Homepage (www.netbsd.org)
• About the NetBSD Project (www.netbsd.org)
• Implementing Linux emulation on NetBSD (os.newsforge.com)

• Downloads
  • Download via ftp: http://www.netbsd.org/mirrors/#ftp
  • Order on CD-ROM: http://www.netbsd.org/Sites/cdroms.html
  • Download ISO images: http://www.netbsd.org/Sites/cdroms.html#officialiso
  • Download via BitTorrent: http://www.netbsd.org/mirrors/#bittorrent